With summer fast approaching, hundreds of thousands of people will be flocking to festivals to enjoy long weekends full of music, interesting speakers, open-air theatre, outdoor dance and hopefully some sunshine.

Festivals are a time to let our hair down and enjoy ourselves, but that doesn't mean we should neglect our health. There are several factors relating to festivals that can be harmful to our bodies, such as loud music, overindulgence in alcohol, dehydration, sunburn and unprotected sex.

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However, by following a few simple tips, it's easy to look after your body throughout a summer event and ensure you return home just as healthy and well as when you left.

To find out more, have a read through our guide to staying healthy at festivals this summer.

Can music be too loud?

It goes without saying that one of the main attractions of summer festivals is the music. Donning your wellies with a drink in hand and dancing to your favourite band in a field is what it's all about for some people.

But bear in mind that music can in fact be too loud in some cases and can cause lasting damage to your hearing.

If you're the sort of festival-goer who wants to be right at the front of the action, close to the booming speakers, think about wearing earplugs and taking regular breaks from the thumping beats to prevent your hearing from being damaged on a long-term basis.

Look after your skin

Festivals often take place in open fields, where the only shelter on a hot day can be a stuffy, claustrophobic tent.

This means you'll be outside most of the time and will therefore need to take care to ensure you don't get sunburnt, as this can be particularly harmful.

Extensive damage to your skin caused by the sun can result in the development of skin cancer in the future, so it's important to make sure you're protected at all times.

Apply plenty of sun cream - with a minimum factor of 15 - at regular intervals throughout the day and make sure you protect your head and neck by wearing a hat with a wide brim.

People often forget to cover their backs and shoulders, so ensure you keep yours hidden from the sun's potentially harmful rays - perhaps by using a scarf or shawl if it's too hot to wear a jacket.

Stay hydrated

Burning isn't the only thing festival-goers need to worry about on hot days. Staying hydrated is of utmost importance.

People can get dehydrated without really noticing, especially at a festival when they are more likely to be dancing, feeling warm and drinking alcohol.

Ensuring you carry a bottle of water with you at all times can help prevent this, while drinking some in between each alcoholic beverage can also help and should lessen the effects of a hangover the next day.

Many festivals provide visitors with free bottles of water or sell it extremely cheaply so make sure you take full advantage of this.

Be alcohol-savvy

Continuing with staying safe and healthy with regard to alcohol, festivals can often be disorientating experiences so make sure you don't consume over the recommended limit, which is three to four units a day for men and two to three for women.

Don't mix drinks and always keep an eye on your bottles and cans to prevent them from being spiked with other substances.

Unprotected sex

All that dancing and alcohol often inevitably results in newly-introduced couples heading back to their tents for some summer loving.

However, there's no need to put your health at risk in the heat of the moment so ensure you use a condoms - these are often given out free by festival staff.

Other people also read:

Is loud music ruining your hearing?: We talk to the European Audiologist of the Year Robert Beiny and audiological scientist Paul Checkley about the dangers of MP3s and what you can do to keep your ears safe.

The materials in this web site are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor. The web site does not have answers to all problems. Answers to specific problems may not apply to everyone. If you notice medical symptoms or feel ill, you should consult your doctor - for further information see our Terms and conditions.